I tried to run long on Saturday and only really made it 14 miles. I was so tired. I'm lowering my expectations for the NYC Marathon. My goal is just to have fun and enjoy the experience.
Oct 23, 2011
Oct 17, 2011
Charm City's Running Festival
I finished Half Marathon #11 this past weekend in Baltimore.
I've run this course before, and had a great time running it in 2007 with MLJ (now MLR) and SR (now SM). I knew what to expect, to a certain extent. But still, it was a bit different. The 9:45 am start felt much later than 2007, but MLR said it wasn't. They started in waves, be we couldn't really figure out where the waves starts were. We should have been in Wave 5, but I think we ended up in Wave 2. And that was still 10 mins or so after the gun went off.
I stuck with MLR, who was walking the half, for about the first 2 miles, and then I started running. I know, it's bad. But, and I can't believe I'm writing this, I like running. As one sign said, "Sweat is fat crying." There were some great signs and shirts on the course.
Now ML said she saw the little dixie cups of beer and candy that people hand out, but I must have missed them. And believe me, I was looking. That was one of my fondest memories of the race the first time. The crowds, the beer, the candy - starbursts, swedish fish, gummy bears - that spectators would pass out. I saw bits of it on the ground - twizzlers and red candies, but I never saw them. It's not because I was running fast, but because it was always so crowded. Still, they had lots of water on the course, and around the lake, they offered bananas (unlike the orange slices in 2007) and pretzels/chips.
All that negates the fact that you feel like you run uphill for most of this race. Seriously, until mile 11, I felt like was running uphill the entire time!
The only really bad part was the finish. Trying to get out of the runner's area was tough. There was a bottle neck and it was sooooo crowded.
The other thing I did wrong was, forget to reset my garmin at the end. I tacked on just under 3 miles, by running back to MLR's friend's M's house in Baltimore. I didn't notice until about half a mile in.
My chip time was 2:27:04 (which was better than my 2:36:24 from '07).
I've run this course before, and had a great time running it in 2007 with MLJ (now MLR) and SR (now SM). I knew what to expect, to a certain extent. But still, it was a bit different. The 9:45 am start felt much later than 2007, but MLR said it wasn't. They started in waves, be we couldn't really figure out where the waves starts were. We should have been in Wave 5, but I think we ended up in Wave 2. And that was still 10 mins or so after the gun went off.
I stuck with MLR, who was walking the half, for about the first 2 miles, and then I started running. I know, it's bad. But, and I can't believe I'm writing this, I like running. As one sign said, "Sweat is fat crying." There were some great signs and shirts on the course.
Now ML said she saw the little dixie cups of beer and candy that people hand out, but I must have missed them. And believe me, I was looking. That was one of my fondest memories of the race the first time. The crowds, the beer, the candy - starbursts, swedish fish, gummy bears - that spectators would pass out. I saw bits of it on the ground - twizzlers and red candies, but I never saw them. It's not because I was running fast, but because it was always so crowded. Still, they had lots of water on the course, and around the lake, they offered bananas (unlike the orange slices in 2007) and pretzels/chips.
All that negates the fact that you feel like you run uphill for most of this race. Seriously, until mile 11, I felt like was running uphill the entire time!
The only really bad part was the finish. Trying to get out of the runner's area was tough. There was a bottle neck and it was sooooo crowded.
The other thing I did wrong was, forget to reset my garmin at the end. I tacked on just under 3 miles, by running back to MLR's friend's M's house in Baltimore. I didn't notice until about half a mile in.
My chip time was 2:27:04 (which was better than my 2:36:24 from '07).
Oct 12, 2011
Within a Second
I noticed something today when I downloaded my run info from my Garmin. My run yesterday and today started within a second of each other. Tuesday's run began at 7:57:56 a.m. and today's run started at 7:57:55 a.m. I thought it was a freaky coincidence. Nothing else was the same. Yesterday, I felt great. Today, I felt sluggish. I was faster yesterday, not so today. I didn't bring music - so that was the same. But their was a conversation I couldn't help but overhear yesterday (they were right behind me for a good mile).
The quiet on today's run helped me organize. I realized the Baltimore Half is this weekend and I still have to make travel arrangements. I figured out today's lunch/dinner menu will be asparagus risotto. I'm going to try and hit the farmers market and library before work. And I finally updated the software on my Garmin, so hopefully that will help fix some of the issues I've been having with it.
So not a bad start to the day.
The quiet on today's run helped me organize. I realized the Baltimore Half is this weekend and I still have to make travel arrangements. I figured out today's lunch/dinner menu will be asparagus risotto. I'm going to try and hit the farmers market and library before work. And I finally updated the software on my Garmin, so hopefully that will help fix some of the issues I've been having with it.
So not a bad start to the day.
Oct 11, 2011
Ithaca is Gorges
This past weekend, I road-tripped to Ithaca, NY, where I visited with AA, her hubby J and their daughter J. It was a fun trip. I usually go once a year for a nice relaxing weekend and to catch up with A. A couple of years ago, J turned me onto their normal running route which is an out-and-back to a bridge/highway overpass about 3 miles away. So, now whenever I go there, I do that run.
Sunday morning, I headed out their door and up the very steep hill. You're pretty much running on an uphill to the bridge and a down hill back, but A and J live on a steep hill and I tried running up it, but usually towards the top I just give up and walk to the top.
I didn't bring my iPod with me because I forgot my headphones, so I really could enjoy the scenery. This route takes you past two scenic gorge overlooks where you can see some falls and the lake. It also takes you through Cayuga Heights - which is the pretty suburban neighborhood. What I noticed this year on the run, besides the fact that the leaves were turning, were the little brooks and streams off to the sides. It was really quite pretty.
The other active thing we all did was go on a short hike (J is only 2 years old after all) to a waterfall.
It was a beautiful fall weekend for it. There were some short, small falls, but about 3/4 a mile away from the parking lot is one of the tallest falls in the continental U.S.! Apparently, hundreds of thousands of years ago that was by the lake, but it's slowly been moving back. So in another hundred thousand years it might be more of a mile hike.
Still, all I kept thinking though, was if it was summer, I'd be in the water. There were plently of places that could act as a swimming hole or better yet, you could sit down and soak your feet in the cold, clear waters of the river. Alas, it's fall. I had to content myself with the pretty colored leaves that were everywhere.
Sunday morning, I headed out their door and up the very steep hill. You're pretty much running on an uphill to the bridge and a down hill back, but A and J live on a steep hill and I tried running up it, but usually towards the top I just give up and walk to the top.
I didn't bring my iPod with me because I forgot my headphones, so I really could enjoy the scenery. This route takes you past two scenic gorge overlooks where you can see some falls and the lake. It also takes you through Cayuga Heights - which is the pretty suburban neighborhood. What I noticed this year on the run, besides the fact that the leaves were turning, were the little brooks and streams off to the sides. It was really quite pretty.
The other active thing we all did was go on a short hike (J is only 2 years old after all) to a waterfall.
It was a beautiful fall weekend for it. There were some short, small falls, but about 3/4 a mile away from the parking lot is one of the tallest falls in the continental U.S.! Apparently, hundreds of thousands of years ago that was by the lake, but it's slowly been moving back. So in another hundred thousand years it might be more of a mile hike. Still, all I kept thinking though, was if it was summer, I'd be in the water. There were plently of places that could act as a swimming hole or better yet, you could sit down and soak your feet in the cold, clear waters of the river. Alas, it's fall. I had to content myself with the pretty colored leaves that were everywhere.
Oct 7, 2011
I Didn't Run This Morning...
and I kind of hate myself for it. I think it would have helped my mental well-being for the day.
Oct 6, 2011
Never Again...Until the Next Time
As GF reminded me, after I finished the Marine Corps Marathon I said I'd never run another marathon again. Grete Waitz won NYC Marathon nine times between 1978 to 1988. The first time she ever ran a marathon - NYC in 1978 - she not only won, she set a new world record. Afterwards, she threw her sneakers at her husband, who was the one who encouraged her to run the marathon in the first place, and said "I'm never doing that again!"
Famous last words I can relate to. Afterall, I'm training for my fourth (and hopefully last) marathon. But during my run this morning, I kept thinking of 2012 and how I don't want to have any challenges or goals. I just want to run races that I want to run. And hopefully, they'll have nice shirts to boot!
Famous last words I can relate to. Afterall, I'm training for my fourth (and hopefully last) marathon. But during my run this morning, I kept thinking of 2012 and how I don't want to have any challenges or goals. I just want to run races that I want to run. And hopefully, they'll have nice shirts to boot!
Oct 2, 2011
Three Bridges Run
I signed up to be an 11 min per mile pacer for a 20 mile long run. I did it so I would actually run 20 miles. I couldn't bail. So, I got to Jack Rabbits at 6:45am and at 7am we left. It was a fairly large group (I didn't think many people would show.) Of course, my Garmin was acting up It would say we were running 12:45 when in fact we were running 10:30. If you look at the mile break down, there are not many 11 min mile miles. But I had fun, even if I wasn't a good pacer.
We ran through the park, down the west side, across town via Warren Street and then crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. After, we ran through Dumbo and other Brooklyn neighborhoods to Pulaski Bridge and crossed it into Queens. And then from there to the Queensboro bridge back into Brooklyn. One of the runner's had a knee problem so I ran with her back to the store cutting a bit off of the run. (We were supposed to go back through the park, instead we ran up Lex.)
It was fun running across the bridges in a way. Not the actual bridge itself because it's usually a long, slow uphill, which I hate. But the views off of them were amazing and some had wonderful views of the Manhattan skyline. It also gave me a glimpse of what I'll be running in the NYC Marathon.
We ran through the park, down the west side, across town via Warren Street and then crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. After, we ran through Dumbo and other Brooklyn neighborhoods to Pulaski Bridge and crossed it into Queens. And then from there to the Queensboro bridge back into Brooklyn. One of the runner's had a knee problem so I ran with her back to the store cutting a bit off of the run. (We were supposed to go back through the park, instead we ran up Lex.)
It was fun running across the bridges in a way. Not the actual bridge itself because it's usually a long, slow uphill, which I hate. But the views off of them were amazing and some had wonderful views of the Manhattan skyline. It also gave me a glimpse of what I'll be running in the NYC Marathon.
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